Oh No!!! Not Agave too!!!
Well, just when I thought it was safe to sweeten my coffee with Agave, unfavorable facts about this high fructose sweetener surfaced through all the false and misleading reports put forth by the producers and distributors of this nectar of the agave plant.
I developed a high sensitivity and intolerance to high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) over the years, which very quickly landed me in the hospital under the heart-surgeon’s knife. The inflammatory process, triggered by the presence of artery-damaging corn protein in my blood , resulted in high-cholesterol production by my liver to patch up the eroding lining of my coronary arteries. You see, I’ve had a sweet tooth since my childhood years. With the introduction of HFCS in nearly everything I liked to eat and drink, my heart didn’t stand a chance against arterial blockages. I had six bypasses in 2003 right here in Fort Collins, Colorado. The cardiologist and heart surgeon attributed my high cholesterol and cardiovascular disease to hereditary factors, which apparently account for 5% of cardiovascular cases. My dad and his Italian forbears had it, so I was destined to have it too. Or so I was assured.
Well, I didn’t buy into this common explanation, and went in search for the real cause. My search led me to a clinical nutritionist in Houston, Dr. Stuart White of Whole Health Associates, who uncovered a food-intolerance related to corn and all corn-derived products, which he attributed to my European background. Europeans, he explained, and their progeny appear not to have sufficient reserves of the kind of enzymes that break down the protein in corn, just as Native Americans and their progeny don’t have the enzymes to break down the protein (gluten) in wheat. If you remember from your American history, the Europeans died after eating corn the indian natives gave them in exchange for their wheat, and the indians died from eating the Europeans’ wheat. So, depending on what your hereditary background is, you may have an intolerance to either wheat or corn — or both if you have a mixture, which many living on this melting-pot American continent have.
Note: The undigested protein from corn or wheat finds its way into the bloodstream through the lining of the gut. Here is where the inflammatory process kicks in to deal with undigested food matter, such as corn protein and wheat gluten. With chronic inflammation comes irritable bowel syndrome (ibs) and Crohn’s disease, which leads to what is called “leaky-gut syndrome.” The eroded lining of the gut allows protein molecules to enter the blood sream. This triggers an immune response of histamine production to literally flush the protein out of the blood through the mucous membranes of the lungs and sinuses. Thus we have what are often called “food allergies” but are more accurately called “food intolerances.” Much of what is back of “COPD”, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, which is really a chronic cough, is a food intolerance triggering histamine production that congests the bronchial tubes, resulting in a chronic cough to get the protein-laden mucous up and out.
So, the cardiologist was accurate in attributing my cardiovascular disease to genetic factors, only the genes responsible are not cardiovascular genes, as though my body was programed genetically to have coronary heart disease. It is rather that my European genes lack the factors that help produce enzymes to break down protein in corn, which can lead to inflammation – which can lead to erosion of the inner lining of blood arteries – which triggers cholesterol production in the liver – which can lead to plaque in the arteries to prevent them from leaking – which can lead to heart-attack and bypass surgery. In short, I did not inherit heart disease from my father. I simply inherited his European genes with their shortcomings in digesting corn protein. What an important revelation! Thank you Dr. White!
Today one of my associates forwarded the following to me and I found it so important that I felt I should pass it on to my readers. Needless to say, after reading this, I’m back to using raw sugar in my coffee instead of Agave! All things in moderation, of course.
Is this Popular Natural Sweetener Worse than High Fructose Corn Syrup?
Posted By Dr. Mercola | July 03 2010 | 155,922 views
By Dr. Mercola
Many people interested in staying healthy have switched to agave as a safer “natural” sweetener. They want to avoid well documented dangerous sweeteners like HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) but are unaware that most agave is actually WORSE than HFCS.
Once I realized this, I wrote a special report on agave to inform the public of this danger. I was somewhat surprised that the report would prompt such a firestorm of debate within the industry.
A number of natural agave manufacturers and health conscious consumers still proclaim agave is a safe, all-natural sweetener that is good for everyone.
Some have even criticized me for having ulterior motives. But nothing could be further from the truth. Although I do offer natural health products for sale on this site, I sell no competing products to agave.
Rather, I recommend other options such as stevia products. You can also use xylitol in small amounts or glucose, which is sold commercially as dextrose, and can easily be purchased on Amazon for $1 per pound. I do not sell any of these products.
My only purpose for sharing this information is to help people understand the truth about health. In case you haven’t noticed, we have an epidemic of obesity in the US and it wasn’t until recently that my eyes opened up to the primary cause — fructose.
Yes, it is all about freedom of choice. It is hard to have freedom if you aren’t given the entire story, and up until now that has been the case with agave.
Read more on his website:
HealingTones.org 